Learning to Breathe
by EneriRenie
Summary: Satoshi learns to live. Risa learns to love. [A collection of SatoshixRisa oneshots]
1. Indestructible

**Reen's ramblings: **My fanfic muse continues to stand over me with a whip in hand, occassionally cracking it and screaming, "Write more SatoshixRisa fanfics! WRIIIIIIITE!" while I whimper and obey. XD Really, it's almost scary. I just have so much fun writing this couple (probably because I have nothing keeping me busy--where are all those job opportunities!) because I see so much potential in them.

Standard disclaimers apply. Title of fic and the bits of lyrics are from song 'Learning to Breathe' by Switchfoot.

* * *

**Learning to Breathe**  
_A collection of SatoshixRisa oneshots_

* * *

**_Indestructible_**  
_In which Krad appears for the last time._

--

"N-No—" Satoshi gasped, clutching at his heart as he fell, immediately curling up in pain. "H-How…? You were—" He fought back a cry as another spasm of pain hit his whole body. "…Supposed…to be…gone…"

Krad's maniacal laughter filled his mind, and Satoshi squeezed his eyes shut as if to block out the horrible sound. But instead, the image of the white-winged angel became clearer, the laughter louder, in his head.

Sprawled on the floor of his bedroom, Satoshi heard the faint sound of his front door opening and tensed up. Shit. Someone had arrived.

"Hello? Satoshi? Anybody home?" a familiar, lilting female voice called out. Risa. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to be silent. He didn't want her to see him like this—but as if mocking his intent, Krad struggled more violently inside of him, making him scream out in pain.

"Satoshi!" Her pounding footsteps echoed in the hallway as she ran to his room. Flinging open the door to his bedroom, her heart skipped a beat as she saw him on the floor. As she took one step toward him, he flung out an arm to stop her.

"D-Don't…" he said weakly, trying to stand up. "Don't…come near…me…"

He cried out and fell to the floor once more. Risa immediately ran towards him with her arms held out, stumbling against his weight as she caught him at the last second. Despite trying to ward her off a few moments before, Satoshi now clung to her, his hands gripping her arms tightly.

"Satoshi, what's wrong?" The fright in her voice made his heart constrict.

"Krad…He…" And he began to shake violently in her arms, screaming all the while. Snow-white wings sprouted from his back. Risa gazed at them in wonder and horror, pulling Satoshi closer to her.

"No…" she murmured in disbelief. "It can't be…"

He raised his head and she nearly gasped at the sight. One of his eyes had turned yellow, and his hair was slowly turning blonde as well. "He…" Satoshi panted. "He wants to…hurt…you…" He let go of her arms and clutched his head, trying to prevent the transformation from taking place, to no avail. Realizing it was only moments before Krad took over, he yelled, "Risa! Leave, now! RUN!"

"NO!" And to Satoshi's shock, she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I won't leave you! Not now, not ever!"

"Risa…" He drew back slightly, his hand cupping her cheek gently. He tried to smile, but ended up grimacing instead. "He'll…only harm—" And his words were drowned by an almost inhuman scream coming from his mouth as the pale angel fully emerged.

Risa stared into Krad's ruthless eyes almost defiantly, her arms still around his waist. The white angel looked down at her haughtily for a brief moment before a smirk crossed his lips—and Risa instantly found herself flipped onto her back, her arms pinned to the sides and Krad's mouth crushed against hers.

She struggled violently, desperately, fighting him with all her might. She felt her eyes welling up with tears as her strength failed her.

Then Krad was abruptly thrown off her, crashing into the wall.

Risa sat up, her limbs trembling at the effort, and looked around. To her utter relief, she saw Satoshi standing up slowly from where Krad had fallen, breathing heavily. The majestic-looking white wings were still there, casting an ethereal glow about him. He looked completely enraged.

"How…dare…you," he hissed vehemently, looking about dazedly. Then his gaze fell on her. The enraged look in his eyes was replaced by another that made her shiver—and not from fear.

He strode towards her, his wings rustling softly at the action. Upon reaching her, he pulled her up—almost with no effort as she willingly stood up, albeit shakily, the moment his hand held hers—and slowly lowered his head until his lips were barely a centimeter away from hers. Risa's breath hitched painfully, sweetly at her throat, and she closed her eyes in anticipation. He brushed her lips with his, the touch feather-soft, traveling to drop light kisses on her eyelids, then brushing softly over her nose, before fully claiming her lips again in a kiss that she knew would be branded in her mind forever.

The hateful memory of Krad's earlier assault on her vanished into oblivion as Satoshi's mouth moved gently yet insistently over hers. She placed her trembling hands against his chest—which was also trembling, to her surprise—and ran them upwards to tangle in his hair, pressing herself closer to him. In turn, one of his arms wrapped around her waist while the other hand rested on the base of her neck, angling her head for a deeper kiss. Risa felt a jolt of pleasure course through her body at the contact of his tongue with hers. She was starting to feel a bit light-headed—Dark's kisses were certainly nothing compared to this, some part of her brain managed to process the thought. His kisses became more demanding, but in no way bruising as Krad's had been, making her heart pound so hard she thought it might just jump out of her chest right then and there. She felt as if he was sucking out and breathing life into her at the same time—never had she experienced something so mind-blowing, so _right_.

It was her who pulled away regretfully, the need for oxygen making the action necessary. He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes still shut. They both panted heavily as their lungs struggled to fill themselves with much-needed air.

Satoshi leaned his head closer, making their noses but not their lips touch. "Risa," he breathed. "You're mine." His eyes swept about her face, as if memorizing every curve and line. "Mine," he repeated.

And then he fainted, his wings simultaneously bursting apart into numerous pure-white soft feathers.

Holding him tightly in her arms, Risa slowly sank to the floor as the feathers fell gently around them like snow. She cradled his head in her hands, placing it on her lap. Then she watched the feathers in wonder as they continued to fall. She reached out and touched one lightly in midair—to her surprise, it slowly dissolved into nothingness. She looked on, wide-eyed, as all the other feathers seemed to follow suit. For some unexplained reason, she felt her heart swelling with happiness at the sight. Tenderly, she brushed Satoshi's hair away from his eyes, wiping the sweat from his brow before pressing her lips to his forehead as if to somehow assure him.

Not a single white feather could be seen moments after.

And Risa knew everything was going to be alright.

* * *

"It wasn't Krad," Kosuke said. 

Daisuke stared confusedly at his father. The expression on Riku's face, who was sitting beside him, was the same. It was Riku who spoke up. "What do you mean, sir?"

Kosuke sighed, running a hand through his already unruly hair. "It couldn't have been Krad because he and Dark were both sealed. If one got out, the other would have, too." He turned to his son. "But you don't feel Dark, right?"

The redhead shook his head, looking a bit sad. "No, I definitely don't feel him anymore. He's gone."

Kosuke nodded. "Right. And you, Daisuke, have accepted that fact. Satoshi, on the other hand, would appear that he has not, with his angel. While he knows the fact to be true, and has seen it happen for himself, I would guess that he still carried a nagging feeling that Krad was still there, that Krad would never stop tormenting him, as he always has for the whole of his life." Kosuke's warm brown eyes clouded over with pity. "In truth, what appeared tonight was nothing more than a fragment of Satoshi's memory of Krad. A fragment that will continue to linger in his mind, if he would not entirely believe that Krad is gone."

Daisuke suddenly smiled. "I think he already has."

The three of them turned their heads to the nearby bedroom almost in unison. They could see through the open doorway the flowing brown hair of Risa, her upper body slumped on the bed as she had fallen asleep while sitting on a chair beside the bed, and the gentle rise and fall of Satoshi's chest as he lay fast asleep. They could also see, on top of Satoshi's chest—just above his heart—their clasped hands, fingers entwined.

_--_

_I never thought I could fall like that  
Never knew that I could hurt this bad_

_--_

**Fin.**


	2. Inconceivable

**Inconceivable  
**_In which Risa realizes everyone in school are idiots...either that or they've been in denial._

* * *

She almost couldn't believe that everyone thought they were simply the best of friends.

They were _always_ with Daisuke and Riku, for heaven's sake. And everyone just thought it was because Satoshi was a good friend of Daisuke's and her…well, because she was Riku's twin sister! They didn't even have any inkling—like, hello, coosome twosome alert. How blind can one get?

Sure, Satoshi was never one for public displays of affection, unlike Daisuke who was _always_ holding hands with Riku and kissing her on the cheek or lips or hair every chance he gets OR making goo-goo eyes at her when he thought no one was watching. Risa knew that, and she was fine with it. Which is why she was actually surprised with what Satoshi did this morning. But then again, just when she thinks she has him all figured out, he goes off and does something completely unexpected of him—making her fall for him even harder.

The two of them were standing just outside the classroom door. A few minutes more and the first bell would ring. Daisuke and Riku were already inside; with Daisuke sitting on the desk next to Riku's for the time being while the teacher still hadn't arrived. Satoshi, to Risa's disappointment, was transferred to an advanced placement class. Of course, she knew it would be better for him—still not much of a challenge, with him being finished with college and all, but still, better than their regular class.

"So…" Risa said, looking up at Satoshi shyly. He wasn't wearing his glasses today, and damn him for that. She almost couldn't bring herself to look fully into his piercing blue eyes, feeling as if she would spontaneously combust if she did so. He probably had no idea how hot he was without his glasses. He was hot with his glasses on, too, come to think of it—but him without them was a tad hotter. So she focused her eyes on his lips instead. "See you later, at lunch?"

The corner of his lips turned up in a soft smile as he nodded, and too late Risa realized that it was a bad idea to be staring at that particular part of his anatomy. "Yeah, later." He paused. Was she staring at...? "So…bye for now."

"Yeah…bye," Risa echoed.

A few seconds went by, with Satoshi standing there because he was waiting for Risa to enter the room, and Risa not moving at all from her spot.

His smile widened. "What are you waiting for, a kiss?"

She turned beet red. "Mou!" she exclaimed, pouting at him for teasing her. She began to turn away from him in a huff when he pulled her on one arm, making her fall against him, then he bent his head and kissed her.

For a few moments, Risa lost herself in the pure bliss she never failed to experience when kissing Satoshi. Then high-pitched screams and gasps erupted from the classroom, forcing her to tear her lips away from his.

"What? What's happened?" she asked in alarm, looking around swiftly and clinging to Satoshi in the process. Did someone faint? Or jump off the window? Was there a fire? And then she realized they were all staring at her. And Satoshi.

"Y-You!" A classmate pointed an accusing finger at her. "You…and him!"

Risa stared at all of them, a puzzled look on her face. She glanced at Daisuke and Riku, both of whom wore equally puzzled faces.

"Risa…and Satoshi…you're…You're TOGETHER?" another classmate exclaimed.

WHAT? Wasn't it OBVIOUS before?

She felt Satoshi chuckling, his arms still around her. He was enjoying this, the jerk!

Then the first bell rang shrilly, and Risa thanked her lucky stars for the interruption.

Satoshi grasped her chin gently, making her look at him. "See you," he whispered, and kissed her briefly on the lips again. He let go of her and turned around—only to bump straight into her teacher.

Risa blushed deeply. Will her mortification never end?

Her teacher only grunted at them. "Better hurry to class, Hiwatari-san, the warning bell will ring soon. You can see your girlfriend again later."

Her teacher _knew_ but her classmates _didn't_! But then again, he _did_ see them kissing--did he? Her face turned redder at the thought of being caught kissing by a faculty member.

"Of course, sensei," Satoshi said smoothly, bowing to the older man. He shot one final glance at her, his eyes twinkling, before walking away swiftly.

She was saved from what she was sure would be a vicious interrogation by her classmates with the arrival of their teacher. She groaned inwardly as she slid down onto her seat. They wouldn't be having a quiet lunch that day, she was sure of it.

--

_Hello, good morning, how you do?  
What makes your rising sun so new?_

_--_

**Fin.**

**Reen's ramblings: **Can anybody tell that I'm enjoying writing Satoshi and Risa kissing a bit too much? No? I thought so XD


	3. Indomitable

**Indomitable  
**_In which Satoshi and Risa have an interesting conversation._

* * *

"I'm not ready to have sex!" Risa blurted out. 

Satoshi peered up at her from the rather heavy book in World History that he had been engrossed in for the past fifteen minutes, his eyebrows raised. Then with a barely-concealed sigh, he put it down and gazed at her solemnly, giving her his undivided attention.

Risa could feel herself slowly turning red (she seemed to do that a lot when it comes to him damnit) under his seemingly scrutinizing gaze. But she had been _dying_ to say that to him since—well. Ok, so this is embarrassing. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to _say_ it in the school library (let alone ANY part of the school), even if they were sitting in a deserted and rather hidden section.

He carefully removed his glasses and slowly leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on top of his clasped hands. She realized that she had been holding her breath as she waited for a response and quickly exhaled. And inhaled. And exhaled. God, she must be close to hyperventilating now.

"Risa…" he said, then paused. She noticed, with some surprise, that he seemed to be struggling for words. "While I appreciate and thank you for your honesty in that particular subject matter," he continued cautiously, "I would like to know what made you bring it up, seeing as we've never…really talked about it before."

God, she felt incredibly stupid now. _Why_ did she have to go off and say it to him anyway? She stared down at her clenched hands in dismay. How was she supposed to explain that…oh, what the hell. She'd already started, so she might as well go on.

"Um," she began, looking at anywhere but him. "Well…I sort of _heard_ from someone that…college guys expected…their girlfriends to…um, you know…put out."

His brows furrowed, "And?"

God, didn't he get it? "Well…YOU'VE been to college already, Satoshi…so…" She bit her lip and looked at him hesitantly. "…It sort of got me thinking that maybe you were expecting _me_ to…you know."

He made a sound at the back of his throat that sounded strangely like a strangled chuckle. "No," he said simply.

"Excuse me?"

"No, I am not expecting you to have sex with me right now; and when I was in college I was far too young to be thinking of such things, besides which, I'm currently a 'high school guy'—plus add to those the fact that we haven't even reached second base yet," he expounded.

Risa gave an involuntary sigh of relief and then— "Wait, what? We haven't?"

He gave her a look. "No."

"Are you sure?" She tilted her head to one side, thinking hard.

He made that strange sound at the back of his throat again. "Yes, I'm sure. While I would love to bring our intimacies to another level, I'm in no rush." He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose almost absently. "Because while I love you very much, I also respect you. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to do so."

If it were physically possible to melt into a helpless puddle and drip straight onto the floor, Risa would have done so. She looked into his eyes and—ok, this is cheesy, but she really could feel her heart swelling with happiness and love for him.

"While we've both agreed not to engage in any acts of intimacy besides kissing," Satoshi continued, returning her gaze with his own warm and intense one, "I want you to remember and get used to this: YOU are the only girl I want and the only girl I'll EVER want. And one day, I WILL have you."

Ok...melting into a puddle now.

It might take her quite some time to catch her breath, gather herself and concentrate on her homework again after what he just said.

He picked up his book almost nonchalantly as if he didn't just render her speechless and nearly incapacitated. "And, you know," he said, propping up the book comfortably, "I don't quite plan on being the last Hikari."

--

_I could use a fresh beginning too  
All of my regrets are nothing new_

--

**Fin.**

* * *

**Reen's ramblings: **I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my reviewers (including those who reviewed my other SatoshixRisa fics). You're all wonderful :D 


	4. Insatiable

**Insatiable  
**_In which Satoshi and Risa commune with nature._

* * *

Risa grabbed his hand. "Let's make a run for it!" 

He looked dubiously from her smiling face, to their clasped hands, to the dark clouds above. "From here to your house? I don't think we'll make it."

She shrugged. "Your place first, then. It's nearer." She tugged at his hand, hard. "Come on!"

She started running, and Satoshi had no choice but to follow, removing his eyeglasses and putting them safely in his pocket in the process. She giggled as the drizzle fell lightly on her skin. He shook his head as he observed her: head raised and tongue out as she tried to catch a few raindrops in her mouth. He wasn't really one for taking impromptu baths in the rain. He didn't particularly like getting wet for no reason. Or if the reason was that neither of them remembered to bring an umbrella to school today despite the rains the town had been experiencing these past few days. He cast the sky another dubious glance, hoping the drizzle they were currently experiencing wouldn't get harder.

As if hearing his silent plea, the sky opened itself more, and fatter raindrops started falling. In a few seconds, both of them were totally wet.

"Isn't this great?" she turned and smiled at him, walking backwards and still holding his hand. "It's like communing with nature!"

"My dear," he deadpanned, "there are better ways to commune with nature than getting wet in the rain."

Nature wanted to commune with Risa more, and a very visible and bright lightning streaked across the sky just then, accompanied by a loud crack of thunder that sounded like it was right next to them.

She screamed and threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest. His arms instinctively went around her, and they stood together for a few moments under the downpour—Satoshi would never say it out loud, but he had been rather shaken as well. Meanwhile, Risa was trembling in his arms.

"I told you," he nearly had to shout over the noise as the rain intensified even more. "This isn't a good—"

She raised her head, and he realized she had been trembling from laughter and not because she was frightened. "Wow!" she exclaimed, her hair coming undone from the ribbon at the back to be plastered down the sides of her face. "That was incredible! Did you see it?"

He pushed his dripping hair away from his eyes before proceeding to push back hers from her face, feeling utterly exasperated. "I think the rainwater may have addled your brain a bit."

Pouting, she stuck out her tongue at him. "No, really! Look!"

She pointed, and as if in command, lightning a considerable distance away streaked down to the ground. It was purplish in hue, and its edges could clearly be seen. It was positively breathtaking—if one didn't entertain the thought of being fried by it.

She beamed up at him. "Now tell me you're not having fun."

"I'm not," he said almost petulantly. "I'm cold, I'm wet—soaked to the bone would be a more appropriate term,lightning may strike us any moment now, we're still standing here getting pelted by dagger-like droplets, and—"

Risa stepped forward and covered his mouth with hers, running her hands slowly up his arms—making goosebumps rise in their wake that he knew weren't because of the cold—to place them about his neck. The taste of the rain mixed with her own sweet one, creating a new sensation that wasn't entirely unpleasant for him. She pressed herself against him, making him feel every curve of her body through their drenched clothes, and Satoshi moaned into her mouth, his hands digging into her waist in near desperation for more contact.

The rain slowed to a drizzle once more, and still they stood out in the open, embracing. Risa pulled back slightly and slowly opened her eyes to smile brilliantly at him. "Still cold?" she whispered.

Water continued to run in rivulets down his face to seep more into his clothes, but all he could really feel was her warmth through their soaked garments. Shaking his head in reply, Satoshi smiled down at her and pulled her closer. "_Now_ I'm having fun."

--

_I'm living again, awake and alive  
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies_

--

**Fin. **

* * *

**Reen's ramblings:** And there goes another SatoshixRisa kiss fic XD For all the people who say they don't mind if I make the two do it over and over again (I hear you! I'm with you:D)  
And wow. I'm quite overwhelmed with the reviews I've been receiving. Big shoutout to all my reviewers, especially **Chi**. I'll think about your proposal, ne? ;p Meanwhile, enjoy my fics y'all! 

And oi, I don't know if those of you who've put this fic on alert have been receiving alerts everytime I export and edit chapters here. If you are, I'm sorry, I'm just really tetchy with spelling errors XD And what is UP with ffnet deleting spaces between words sometimes? XD


	5. Indemnify

**Indemnify  
**_In which we learn that Risa has a strong immune system._

* * *

"Say 'ahhh'!" 

"Ahh…ah…AHCHOOOOOOOO!"

Satoshi had thankfully turned his head to the side at the last second, so Risa wasn't sprayed all over with his bodily fluids. He reached for a tissue on his bedside table and blew his nose before turning back to her, looking utterly miserable.

Risa tried to suppress the giggles rising from her chest at the sight of his red nose, causing a rather unladylike snort to issue from _her_ nose.

He glared at her, looking decidedly adorable with his blue, watery eyes and cherry-like nose—although she refrained from telling him so at the moment. "_This,_" he gestured to himself, "is all your fault, you know."

"Oh, so it's my fault that I have a stronger immune system than you?" she said teasingly. Quite a lot of kisses had been shared under that time in the rain, so much in fact that by the time they stopped, the rains had ceased as well without them even realizing it. Placing the spoon she was holding back into the bowl of soup on her lap, she got up carefully and moved to sit on the bed beside him.

A sheepish look crossed his features for a moment, which he hid by reaching for another tissue and blowing his nose again. "Well, _somebody_ suggested running through the rain instead of waiting for it to stop," he said mildly.

"_Well,_ that _somebody_ didn't know that another _somebody_ would get sick easily," she countered. She picked up the spoon again and blew on the soup before holding it out to him. "Now come on, finish this up."

Obediently, he opened his mouth and swallowed. Saehara had warned him once or twice about the evils of Risa's cooking, but this soup was just fine. "You cooked this by yourself, didn't you?"

She beamed at him, looking proud. "Of course! _And_ without any help." He gestured for her to give him the bowl and she did so. She watched, fascinated, as he scooped the soup _away_ from him instead of towards him—like all etiquette books say one should while eating soup…god, but he was _so_ proper—and began eating rather heartily, although careful not to spill any on the bed sheets.

When he was finished, he looked at her to find her staring at him expectantly. "Was it good?"

"Do you want…a full marks answer, or an honest answer?"

She tilted her head to one side, considering. "The full marks answer, first."

"This, without a doubt, is the most delicious and filling cream of mushroom I have ever had in my entire life," he said solemnly, waving the spoon around for emphasis.

Giggling, she said, "Okay, now the honest answer."

"It _is _a bit runny and a tad too salty—" She cringed. "—But other than that, it's perfectly fine."

"Honest?"

"I never lie to you." They gazed at each other, and Risa could feel her cheeks turning pink, as they were wont to whenever she finds herself under his warm and penetrating stares. She tore her eyes from his to the empty bowl on his lap.

"I'd better clear this—" She leaned forward and grabbed the bowl, only to find his hands completely covering hers, immobilizing them.

"Come here," Satoshi said gently, voice low, and together they placed the bowl on the bedside table. He shifted to give her more room, and she moved closer, leaning forward again and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Thank you," he whispered before cupping the side of her face and slowly bringing his head down, watching her eyes close gradually through his own heavy-lidded ones. He dropped light, feather-soft kisses on her nose, near one ear and on her jaw—eliciting a sound at the back of her throat that almost, always, pushed at his self-control—before moving his mouth over hers in a languid and torturously slow kiss that served to make their body temperature rise and their hearts pound harder.

Risa eventually pulled away, burrowing her head at the crook of his neck and giving out a deep sigh of contentment, her warm breath tickling his throat. "Now I'll definitely have colds too."

He chuckled lightly, running one hand through her long, soft locks while the other drew her even closer. "You have a strong immune system, remember?"

--

_I'm learning to breathe  
I'm learning to crawl_

--

**Fin. **

* * *

**Reen's ramblings: **Whoops, no -ble at the end of the title XD Yes, this be a continuation of the previous one shot, _Insatiable _:D 

And the Satoshi in my head has been giving me a piece of _his _mind.  
Imaginary!Satoshi: Oy. Your readers think I'm a pervert. Can you not write Risa and I in a non-kissing situation?  
Me: What are you talking about? Chapter 3 has no kissing in it!  
Imaginary!Satoshi: Yes, but WE TALK ABOUT SEX IN IT INSTEAD! Will you stop rubbing off your perverseness on me?

HAHAHAHAHARHAR! Ehem.

Again, thank you for all the feedback!

And ffnet...will you PLEASE stop the random deleting of spaces between words! It's driving me mad XD


	6. Incentive

**Incentive**_  
In which we learn that Satoshi is a bad tutor for Risa._

* * *

It was a BAD idea to ask Satoshi to tutor her in Math. 

Well, in hindsight, it was a good idea. He is a genius after all, what with finishing college before the rest of them—the normal homo sapiens—even thought about college at all. They say people who are good in Math are bad in English, which is certainly not the case with Satoshi: he's good in Math, in English, in History, in—oh, all the subjects in the world, probably, plus add to that the fact that he's an extremely talented artist. The belief that those who are good in Math are bad in English was also not the case with Risa, who is admittedly bad at both, but maintains that her Math is worse (plus add to that the fact that she couldn't draw to save her life).

So of course, knowing of her boyfriend's almost inhuman brain capacity, and with the finals looming in the near future, she asked him one day to tutor her in Math after classes.

It was a baaaaaaaad idea.

…Mainly because Risa didn't think she would be so distracted as they sit in a hidden, cozy (read: cramped) part of the school library which Satoshi earlier confessed to her as his favorite "hiding place" to get away from his fangirls. They sit, side by side; his leg pressed sideways against hers, their feet constantly brushing against the other's whenever one of them shifted. It also didn't help that once in a while, whenever it took too long for her to grasp a concept, he would lightly take hold of her pencil, covering her hand with his, and write the solution.

And whenever she inhaled, his scent would overwhelm her senses: soap, like he always came straight from the bath, and something else—like perfume, only milder—she wasn't sure. She could never describe it, only that she knows she feels incredibly safe and comforted when she would press her face against his neck and inhale that particular scent that seemed to belong only to him whenever they were alone.

And when they were alone…he had kissed her once in public, and that had been more for the benefit of others who were too dense to see that they were indeed together. In the presence of others he was the perfect gentleman, never touching her except for an occasional hand on her waist or on the small of her back. But when they were alone…

Which is what they were now. Alone. Just the two of them together. But instead of engaging in what would be the normal activity they do whenever they were alone, they were studying.

And _that_ thought was distracting Risa the most.

"—and so the answer would be 2 square root of 2 over X squared."

She blinked. "I'm sorry?"

He half-glared at her, his eyeglasses glinting with the light overhead. "You're not paying attention."

Risa lowered her head and looked down at her notes, nibbling at her lower lip as she did so.

"Risa…" Satoshi reached out and gently took her hand, interlacing their fingers and slowly rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. Her breath hitched at her throat at the action—this was torture. _Torture_. If she didn't know any better she'd say Satoshi was doing this on purpose. "What's wrong?" he asked.

_Kiss meeeeeee!_ she wanted to scream and then abruptly throw herself at him. Instead she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You know, you really don't have any problems with Math," he was saying, his thumb still lazily drawing circles on her hand. "You just lack concentration. You _need_ to focus when solving. You need to separate your Math notes from the rest of your notes. And you need to practice. So…" He removed his hand from hers and reached for a piece of paper on the table. "I'd like you to solve these problems."

She raised her head and looked at him, pouting, her lower lip sticking out.

He stared back at her, his eyes serious but with a playful glint in them. "And to motivate you—I've thought of a little something to give you as a reward." He paused. "A kiss…for every problem you solve correctly."

"A kiss," she echoed.

"Yes."

"For every correct answer."

"Yes." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "There are fifteen problems in all."

"Satoshi—you—" Her face slowly turned red, and for a moment it looked like she was going to strangle him. Then she huffed, grabbing the piece of paper and her pencil. "Fine!"

For a few moments, Satoshi watched as Risa worked on one problem, a small smile playing on his lips. She was trying her hardest to ignore him, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Risa."

"What?" she snapped, turning her head to glare at him. "Can't you see I—"

And suddenly she found it hard to talk with Satoshi's lips covering hers. Her pencil clattered to the floor as her hands came up to tangle themselves in his hair. Her distraction was complete when his mouth strayed from hers to pay special attention to the line of her jaw, before moving to her ear and nibbling at her earlobe. She cried out in surprise and his mouth swallowed the sound, the thrill of being discovered where they are and what they're doing urging them on, when suddenly the situation they were in struck her as hilarious and she let out a muffled giggle. She could feel him smiling against her lips and she started giggling harder until she felt his fingers caressing the skin on the small of her back, playing just above the band of her skirt before going just a bit lower. A cross between a moan and a growl resounded at the back of her throat and she dragged her hands down to his waist before running them back up his chest to grab his collar and pull him even closer.

Satoshi pressed a final lingering kiss on her lips before pulling away and bending down to retrieve her pencil from under the table. He ran a hand through his mussed-up hair several times, fixed his glasses securely above his nose and tried to straighten his polo while Risa also fixed her appearance. After a few moments they just sat, staring at each other, both of them breathing rather heavily. Finally he handed her the pencil and she took it, though he didn't let go.

She raised an eyebrow at him, her hand lightly holding one end of the pencil. "Was that a bonus? Because you know, I haven't even solved anything yet."

"No," he said, chuckling softly and finally letting go of the pencil. "No, that wasn't a bonus." He let his gaze roam over her form, noting with satisfaction the swelling of her lips and the flushness of her cheeks, before shifting and facing the table to pore over her nearly unintelligible notes. "That was _my_ reward."

--

_I'm finding that you and you alone  
can break my fall_

--

**Fin.**

* * *

**Reen's ramblings:** Wow. I wrote Satoshi and Risa getting kinky in the school library. Hee!  
You know, I would honestly, as in really and truly LOVE to write the two of them in a non-Parental Guidance manner, but my Satoshi-muse and Risa-muse just can't keep their hands off of each other XD  
And again, sorry for the flurry of alerts. I keep spotting errors and have these urges to rewrite a few scenes. As of 11/06/2006 I have added a few more details to make this oneshot just a bit more smuttier XD  



	7. Innumerable

**Innumerable**_  
In which we learn why Satoshi loves Risa._

* * *

"Why do you love Risa-chan?" 

If Satoshi found it strange that Daisuke, who had been about to leave the art room and had stopped to watch him paint for a few moments, would ask him that—he didn't show it. Instead he lowered his brush and regarded the question carefully, staring at his unfinished work pensively.

They both gazed at the painting. It was of Risa: standing by a window, arms held out, mouth open in laughter as the wind played with her hair and the sunlight danced on her features, illuminating her. Satoshi had hoped to finish it by this afternoon; Risa was going to arrive any moment now as they had made plans to meet there so he could finally show it to her, and he wanted it done by then.

"Because she brings light into your life?" Daisuke guessed, when Satoshi continued to remain silent.

The blue-haired young man raised an eyebrow, but the corners of his mouth lifted in amusement.

"She brought a wind of change into your life?" Daisuke hazarded.

Satoshi smirked. "Really, Daisuke, who would have known being with Riku would make you poetic?"

"Hey!" the redhead exclaimed, "I'm poetic enough before Riku, you know. When I want to be," he hurriedly amended, grinning. "So? Why do you love her?"

Satoshi raised his brush to the painting and added a few strokes. "There are many reasons why I love Risa," he said slowly, working carefully as he spoke. "I could state one, or a few, but it would be insufficient. To even say them out loud would make them seem meaningless, and even worthless." He lowered his brush again and faced Daisuke. "On the whole, when I think about it, I don't really even know _why_."

He paused, before saying quietly, "I just...do."

Daisuke was struck dumb for a few moments at the other boy's serious admission. Eventually he recovered, chuckling. "Wow. It's amazing. I guess you really do love her after all."

"I love her and I'm in love with her," Satoshi said, a solemn look on his face. "I know the difference, and I know I'm both." Then he smiled. "Now you can go and tell Riku that, so she can stop worrying about me and her sister."

"Hey, how did you know she asked—"

"I didn't; what you just said confirmed it," the bespectacled boy said smugly.

Daisuke laughed. "Yeah, well." He watched his friend continue working on his painting for a few seconds before he spoke again. "You know, I painted Risa-chan once."

"Is that so?" Satoshi's ears perked up slightly at the declaration, but he continued painting.

"Yeah. I was able to capture her likeness perfectly, but this—" Daisuke gestured to the canvas, "is Harada Risa. It's her, through and through."

"Thank you," Satoshi said, and he truly meant it.

"Hey, make me the best man in your wedding, alright?" Daisuke said, poking his shoulder playfully.

"Who else would it be, idiot," Satoshi grumbled under his breath. The spiky-haired lad laughed again as he finally walked away.

"Oh, hello Risa-chan!" he heard Daisuke call out from outside the room. He suppressed a laugh—so she was there. And she was probably there the whole time, listening as he and Daisuke were talking. And he didn't mind.

He didn't turn to greet her, thinking she would be approaching him by now; instead he concentrated on finishing his work, now adding the finishing touches to the painting. It was only when he was done did he realize that she was still standing by the door, just looking at him, her eyes bright.

Satoshi placed his brush and palette on a nearby table and stood next to his painting, gazing at her. Risa walked forward slowly, almost solemnly, her hands clasped in front of her tightly, her eyes never wavering from his.

And he felt a sudden, dizzying sensation that he seemed to be seeing the future: her walking down the aisle while he stood waiting by the altar.

Risa stopped halfway, sucking in a sharp breath as she saw the painting. Satoshi could see her eyes take in the details: the window, the sunlight, the wind. Herself. She met his gaze again and she smiled brilliantly, her eyes brimming with tears. She walked forward once more, closing the distance between them until they were close enough to touch.

He held his arms open and she stepped into them, her hands clutching the fabric of his polo shirt tightly at the back as she burrowed her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent contentedly.

She felt like a child who had been left behind in school while the others around her had someone to pick them up; until _he_ came to collect her. She wasn't alone anymore, she knew she will _never_ be alone.

"Tadaima," Risa whispered.

Satoshi pulled back slightly and smiled. He leaned down and kissed one eyelid, then the other, almost reverently, his lips tracing her eyebrow to stop at her ear and whisper.

"Okaeri."

**Fin.**

* * *

**Translation **(a reviewer asked what these meant so here you go...And sorry for assuming that everyone already knew what these words meant XD)  
Tadaima - I'm home, I'm back, I came back  
Okaeri - Welcome home, welcome back

**Reen's ramblings: **Oh my god, my muses have gone all mushy on me. I started off writing this oneshot with a random fangirl asking Satoshi that question, but she annoyed me so much that I killed her. Er, from the story, that is XD  
And I've run out of song lyrics by now XD Well, advanced Merry Christmas to all then :D  
But! Fear not, for my smut-muses will soon make a comeback!  
And Anal!Reen strikes again, with her obsessive-compulsiveness in editing and rewriting! XD Thanks for bearing with me, you all :)


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